Last October, Chevron sued lawyer Steven Donziger under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), accusing him of conspiring to procure a US$9.5 billion judgment against the company in an Ecuadorian court in connection with widespread oil contamination of the rainforest. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in favor of Chevron, finding Donziger, representing the Ecuadorian plaintiffs, had engaged in bribery, fraud and witness tampering. Kaplan also imposed requirements that could effectively prevent the lawyer and his rainforest-dwelling clients from collecting from Chevron anywhere in the world. Donziger and his Ecuadorian clients are now challenging the decision before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. For their part, prominent legal scholars and civil society organizations have issued statements of... [Log in to read more]